Steam Release Date and Actual Release dates being used, FINALLY

[mtownshend]

It's been really confusing the past year as games sometimes 20+ years old having a current date listed as the Release Date. Well, I just noticed that they have finally made some attempt to resolve that, at least technically, the confusion persists for the average user, but they are at least adding a REAL release date in the section to the right under the pub/dev list.

I could have easily missed this, but I can't imagine that with all the complaints on game forums nobody has stepped up and mentioned that there is a real release date being posted.

I think that this is great, Steam seems to have listened and actually spend a few minutes addressing this issue for everyone.

What you see as the release date has not changed, this is "Steams Release Date" and is prominately displayed to the right of the video/images. As I said you can also now find a real release date under the pub/dev. Steam seems to still want to deceive by not making any change to the release dates by merely calling the Steam Release date, which I am sure was discussed as it was merely a matter of adding the word Steam to the release date, leaving all games with 2 "release dates", but we can at least now see when these games were actually released. Now it is only a matter of time before we will start to see what they will do to manipulate this date above where you can see the type of game (ie. single player, multiplayer and all the other nondescriptors that have creeped into this list).

I am very happy that Someone listended though and actually did something to TRY to clear this up, but to have all game pages now list 2 release dates, you can easily discern which is the correct date as you scroll down the page.

Thanks Steam for this, but you really should have eliminated listing "release date" being shown twice on each game page by adding at the top of the page: Steam Release Date.

Haven't looked to see if they added this to the database or not, but it sure has to be confusing there as a game is entered. I just hope that they are keeping track of the actual release date in the database otherwise this is just a cosmetic fix that will very soon be exploited by all the devs and pubs who will do anything to get a current release date for their 20 year old games and never mentioning in the description this fact. Actually, now that I think of it, this will surely be taken advantage of by not seeing even the respectable pubs. omitting the actual release date in the description, never the less, someone has listened to this important omission/misleading handeling of the release date in the past.

Feel free to kick me if this has been there, but in all the time I have been using Steam, never noticed this second entry for release date on the right side of each page and considering I have tried to make a point to complain in each and every forum where the actual release date needed to be searched for via web browser. With not one reply that I am an idiot that this date has been there forever, I feel strongly that this was changed recently with not a word that I have seen.


Suggestion remains, please add "Steam Release Date" to that line item most visible to all at the top of the page so that when others encounter this, they are not confused. It's one word Steam, please add it to resolve this issue once and for all so that it eliminates completely the soaring accusations of delberitely publishing inaccurate release dates. Not everyone knows that the Release date at the top of the page is not the actual release date, but Steams release date. You would have thought that "Steam Release Date" would have been titled as such many years ago and it is a rather elementary change, which you chose NOT to do all these years.

Anyway, thanks again for listening and making an attempt to fix this, which you have except for the final leap to posting your (Steams) release date and the actual release date. If you wanted to make this as clear as possible, why not publish the two dates at the top of every games page, together, to make this problem dissappear for good.

[Black Blade]

Ok i think i need to kick you XD

But i am not really sure what you talking abut... if i did understand you
I do not see Steam release date any were on the store page, i do see it on the new release, so can you please give some screenshots to help me understand these?

And as much as i know the real release date was always there, but some Publishers/Dev did not put a date in so Steam auto places the Steam release date on it

so can you please clear it a little with some screenshots maybe?

[OctopusOnFire]

Well I've seen different cases for each game.
Doom 2: It lists the actual release date in both sides.
Gray matter: Lists the STEAM release date in both sides.

I'd really love to see both of them in the description, just like this:

Gray Matter

Release date: NA February 22, 2011
EU February 25, 2011

Steam release date: April 1, 2014


I think it's not much to ask for. It would be a great way to avoid any possible misleading or mistake. A trustable company means happy customers, and happy customers mean more sales

[Silicon Vampire]

Search function. Use it.